CNA classes in Raleigh, North Carolina
The Raleigh area has 25 state-approved CNA programs, from $219 to $1,100. CNAs here earn a median $19.09/hr. WakeMed is the largest private employer in Wake County.
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- North Carolina-approved programs only
- Data verified July 10 2026
CNA programs in the Raleigh area
If you are training in Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College is the route most people take: its NAS-101 course leads onto the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry, and you can take it at any of four Wake County campuses. At the Perry Health Sciences Campus you are next door to WakeMed’s flagship hospital, so your clinical rotations are steps from the classroom. If Smithfield is the shorter drive, Johnston Community College teaches the same Nurse Aide I course southeast of Raleigh.
| Program | City | Format | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care One Health Training Institute INC. | Raleigh | Hybrid | 5 wk | $1,050 | ||
| Care One Health Training Institute INC. – Hybrid | Raleigh | Hybrid | Contact school | $1,050 | ||
| Diversified Healthcare Training Institute | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | $1,000 | ||
| Johnston Community College – Cleveland Campus | Clayton | Hybrid | Contact school | $219 | ||
| Johnston Community College – Main Campus | Smithfield | Hybrid | Contact school | $219 | ||
| Legacy U Healthcare Consulting & Training Center | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | $849 | ||
| NCALC Nurse Aide I Training Program | Raleigh | In-person | 8 wk | $800 | ||
| SembraSchool Nurse Aide I Program | Raleigh | In-person | Contact school | $1,049 | ||
| Shades of Purple | Raleigh | Hybrid | Contact school | $1,100 | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – North | Raleigh | In-person | 19 wk | $300 | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – PHSC | Raleigh | In-person | Contact school | $300 | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – PSEC | Raleigh | In-person | 8 wk | $300 | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – VMCCA | Raleigh | In-person | Contact school | $300 | ||
| Atlantic Coast Healthcare Institute, INC. | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Classic Training Academy | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Duke Raleigh Hospital | Raleigh | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Guiding Lights Nurse Aide I Program | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Harmony Health Career Training Institute | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| HealthCore Resource School | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Hope of Solace Institute | Smithfield | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Hope of Solace Institute | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| International Nurses School, INC. | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Providence Training Institute, INC. | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Research Triangle College of Health Sciences & Technology | Raleigh | Contact school | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – Main Campus | Raleigh | In-person | Contact school | Contact school |
Cheapest CNA classes in Raleigh
The cheapest is Johnston Community College – Cleveland Campus at $219, over in Clayton, and inside Raleigh it is Wake Technical Community College – North at $300. Wake Technical Community College teaches the same Nurse Aide I course across four county campuses, so ask which one has seats before you settle on a price.
| Program | City | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnston Community College – Cleveland Campus | Clayton | Contact school | $219 | ||
| Wake Technical Community College – North | Raleigh | 19 wk | $300 | ||
| NCALC Nurse Aide I Training Program | Raleigh | 8 wk | $800 | ||
| Legacy U Healthcare Consulting & Training Center | Raleigh | Contact school | $849 | ||
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| Diversified Healthcare Training Institute | Raleigh | Contact school | $1,000 | ||
| SembraSchool Nurse Aide I Program | Raleigh | Contact school | $1,049 | ||
| Care One Health Training Institute INC. | Raleigh | 5 wk | $1,050 | ||
| Shades of Purple | Raleigh | Contact school | $1,100 | ||
Is the cheapest class the best value?
Every program here is state-approved, so a cheaper seat is not a lesser credential. Wake Tech’s Perry Health Sciences Campus sits next to WakeMed’s flagship on New Bern Avenue, and Johnston Community College anchors the Smithfield side. Ask where the clinical hours are placed before you compare the tuition lines.
Ways to pay
Get reimbursed after you’re hired. You may qualify for pro-rata reimbursement of eligible training costs if a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing home hires you within 12 months of paying for your own training (federal rule 42 CFR 483.152). Ask the facility how it handles reimbursement.
Local help paying for class. The NCWorks Career Centers serving Wake County can help cover training costs through WIOA if you qualify; ask whether your chosen program is on the WIOA-eligible training list before you enroll.
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Where CNAs work in Raleigh
Raleigh’s CNA hiring is dominated by three health systems: WakeMed, UNC Health Rex, and Duke Health. WakeMed, the largest private employer in Wake County, leads from its New Bern Avenue campus. UNC Health Rex hires nursing assistants straight into its Raleigh skilled nursing facility, not just its acute-care hospital. Duke Health runs Duke Raleigh Hospital and has a second inpatient campus under construction in Cary. PruittHealth-Raleigh anchors long-term-care hiring on the south side.
Hospitals (11)
Nursing homes & skilled nursing (13)
Home health agencies (11)
Hospice care (8)
Assisted living (12)
These employers hire CNAs across the Raleigh metro. Get matched to a program near where you want to work.
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What CNAs earn in Raleigh
Depending on your setting and experience, expect somewhere between $14.74 and $22.95 an hour (the 10th to 90th percentile across the Raleigh metro).
At $19.09/hr, Raleigh pays a little above the North Carolina statewide median of $18.49.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, Raleigh-Cary NC metro area (OEWS area 39580)
What moves you up the range
Three things, in the order they usually pay off: shift, setting, and time on the job. Nights, weekends and holidays carry a differential almost everywhere, and picking up those shifts is the fastest raise available to a new aide. Hospitals and hospital-run skilled nursing generally start higher than freestanding nursing homes or agency home care, though the home-care schedule can be worth more than the hourly gap. Experience moves you less than either in the first year. Compare a few of the 55 Raleigh-area listings below against the median above before you take the first offer.
Where you’ll take the CNA exam near Raleigh
North Carolina’s nurse aide competency exam is run by Credentia. Finish a state-approved program first, then register and schedule the written and skills test through Credentia’s CNA365 platform. The exam runs about $140. You get 24 months and up to 3 attempts after finishing training. Passing lists you on the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry.
Raleigh-area test sites
Wake Tech’s Perry Health Sciences Campus on Holston Lane is the one approved test site inside Raleigh. The others sit in Smithfield, Durham and Sanford, and Credentia schedules the date.
Raleigh CNA questions
How we verify this page
We build this page from the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry and approved-training guide (which programs are state-approved), each program’s own published materials (cost, hours, and schedule), Credentia (the state exam), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (pay). Tuition and fees change and aren’t guaranteed here, so confirm the current cost directly with the school before you enroll.
More CNA resources for North Carolina
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